Environmental and Social Impacts of Patagonia, Columbia, and The North Face “It’s important that we don’t think of business as separate from life, separate from the environment.” says Rose Marcario, Patagonia’s president and chief executive officer. While Patagonia is a fair-trade certified, environmentally aware company, Columbia seems to be just the opposite. It is clear that The North Face has tried to follow in the footsteps of their biggest competitor, Patagonia. Patagonia, Columbia Sportswear, and The North Face are all outdoor apparel and sports gear stores, but they each have a very different approach to the social and environmental issues of the fashion industry. Patagonia, being the most ethical of the three companies, has made …show more content…
However, they appear to be somewhat concerned with their environmental impact. Columbia promises to have no forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination, and a safe, hygienic workplace for all of their employees. (“How Sustainable is Columbia”). However, there is no mention that this applies to their supplier chains. The code of conduct for Columbia Sportswear applies only to their own immediate employees; this does not include the impoverished factory workers. Many of these workers do not even get paid a fair living wage for the extensive hours they work everyday, not to mention the often unpaid overtime. Due to these unfair wages, many workers even have to bring their children to work with them. These factories are harsh, cruel establishments where children do not belong. Despite their dismissal of worker conditions, CSC has made a formal statement that says all factory partners have to prevent purchase of any rawhide from cattle raised in the Amazon (“How Sustainable is Columbia”). Columbia is a part of the bluesign paper network, which sets and controls standards for environmentally friendlier and safer production (“How Sustainable is Columbia”). Columbia’s OutDry Eco jacket is one of their most environmentally friendly products. The inside of this jacket is made from 100% recycled polyester, which is made from 21 plastic bottles. The jacket is only available in one color, white. This is because it is dye free, which saves over 13 gallons of water. The trims and hangtags are also made from recycled materials and are printed with soy-based ink. It does not stop there though; these jackets are packaged in a poly bag that is made from sugar cane instead of petroleum. Helen Sahi, the senior director of sustainability adds that “What’s interesting about this green polyethylene is we’re not using food out of the food system…. We’re not
Columbia Sports Wear – is engaged in the invention, distribution of sportswear, footwear, and equipment and outwear. It was founded in Oregon, Portland in 1928. They do produly support and connect the outdoor educational organizations around the world that the people share their passions. They believe that outdoor education and supporting efforts assure everyone will be able to enjoy the outdoors education for local level.
American Eagle Outfitters specializes in denim jeans that are higher-quality and more affordable than Aéropostal and A&F. AEO’s jeans are always updated with the latest fashions and trends. They even have an AE jean guide online so their customers get the perfect fit every time. AEO is also very earth friendly and has been making their merchandise packaging made out of recycled matter. AEO noted that they had a 2010 holiday collection called “Eco Shop” which presented both men and women’s clothing that was crafted out of qualified organic and recycled material. Many of the attire were made out of unrefined cotton that was grown without the use of hazardous synthetic pesticides which resulted in fewer fossil fuel emissions. (Product Innovation) Customers who are environmentally friendly would much rather purchase AEO than the other opponents. This is something their competitors, Aéropostal and A&F, haven’t done for their customers and the environment.
Abstract Patagonia's mission statement is, to use business to inspire and implement solutions to environmental crisis? Patagonia is a clothing company that focus is on selling environmentally safe outdoor apparel. This papers focus is on the history of Patagonia their environmental marketing strategies and their competition. There has also been some outside research done to see what the public perception of Patagonia is. Introduction Patagonia's History In 1957 a young climber named Yvon Chouinard could not find pitons (a form of climbing protection) that he liked.
Columbia Sportswear Company (Columbia) is a leader in the competitive active outdoor apparel industry. A company propelled by their differentiation strategy, leveraging innovation, brand equity, and strong marketing in the design, manufacture, and distribution of outdoor apparel. Columbia’s product lines include everything from outerwear and footwear to camping equipment and skiwear. It has grown from a small hat company in the 1930’s into a company with a global strategy and a physical and online presence spanning Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
Nike publicizes itself as one of the leading industries in corporate responsibility. However, they do not comply with several human rights obligations overseas in countries like Thailand, Pakistan, China, Vietnam and Indonesia. In these countries, production facilities called sweatshops have been running for almost 35 years employing workers as young as 13 years of age. The conditions of these factories are adverse to say the least and deprive workers of the moral human rights they should be entitled to. Sweatshops are unethical, immoral and demonstrate Nike’s ignorance towards their social responsibilities abroad. Within these facilities, workers endure stressfully long days under undesirable conditions, often with no breaks and very little pay. While this is going on overseas, sponsored athletes are being paid million dollar salaries here in North America. Although Nike’s reputation has been foiled through the tabloids regarding this issue, they have been making a substantial effort to “clean up” production messes in the East.
Nike does not merely sell products these days. They spend billions of dollars for advertising contracts with famous athletes like Tiger Woods to increase the value of the brand by associating the factor of lifestyle to their products. The company's image has been damaged many times by press releases as well as a variety of NGOs who have long pointed out the inhumane working conditions in the production facilities of sporting goods manufacturers. This leads to the question whether should Nike orientate the regulations of the suppliers to the labor standards in their respective countries or those in the United States? The labor conditions are so inhumane that Nike at least should try to converse to the US standard to improve the situation. The following analysis of an abstract of Nikes’ Responsibility Concept, including SHAPE and their Code of Conduct, should give an insight into the difficulties of the Sweatshops.
As a multinational company, Puma strive to be the most desirable and sustainable sportlifestyle company in the world (Puma 2012, p. 9) and contributes in creating a more sustainable future for the generations to come (Puma 2012, p. 15). To meet these goals, the company claims that it has referred its business decisions to the four values of PUMAVision (fair, honest, positive and creative), implemented PUMAVision’s programs, which are PUMA.Safe, PUMA.Peace and PUMA.Creative, (Puma 2012, p. 10) and set its own code of ethics as well as its supplier’...
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
With the increasing awareness and publicity of poor working conditions in subcontracted factories in East Asia, Nike has stimulated an uprising of activist and watchdog groups working toward seeing these conditions changed. With Nike in the negative spotlight, various organizations have revolved around generating a negative outlook on Nike’s practices of social irresponsibility. Certain campaigns such as the “National Days of Consciousness” and “International Day of Protest” were organized to educate people on the deplorable working conditions in Nike’s Asian manufacturing plants, and were designed to get more people involved in global employment issues.
2010: H&M becomes the world’s largest consumer of organic cotton and continues to increase its use of sustainable materials in the following years.
Factory farms have portrayed cruelty to animals in a way that is horrific; unfortunately the public often does not see what really goes on inside these “farms.” In order to understand the conditions present in these factory farms, it must first be examined what the animals in these factory farms are eating. Some of the ingredients commonly used in feeding the animals inside factory farms include the following: animal byproducts, plastic, drugs and chemicals, excessive grains, and meat from members of the same species. (Adams, 2007) These animals are tortured and used for purely slaughter in order to be fed on. Typically large numbers of animals are kept in closed and tight confinements, having only little room to move around, if even that. These confinements can lead to suffocation and death and is not rare. Evidence fr...
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spends $1,700 on clothes annually and “the average woman in England has 22 unworn items in her closet.”(Johnson) People buy a surplus of clothing, meaning factories make excess textile waste. While there have been many debates whether the clothing industry is the second most polluting industry of the world, second only to oil, there’s no doubt that the fashion industry has made an impact on the world, but not in a good
This article is about the overall impacts of fast fashion. The particular section referenced discusses possible solutions and alternatives to fast fashion. It talks about how it is possible to produce environmentally friendly clothing through the use of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, and other fiber crops that require less pesticides, water, and other inputs. It goes on to share how certain brands are beginning to implement the model of sustainable clothing. The point of this article is to introduce readers to the topic of fast fashion, give background, and show readers what they
Fabrics can be made of natural and synthetic materials. Natural fabrics, like cotton (NY Fashion Center) for example, are found here on earth while synthetic fabrics are manmade (MV Styles). There are many distinguish ways to determine if a fabric is natural or synthetic. Each fabric is different in its own way due to it reaction to heat, its odor, residue and chemicals (MV Styles). Fabrics are seen and used every day and in every way. Synthetic material has been pushed more into the picture because it much easier to make and the cheapest to buy. Synthetic materials are sometimes made form fossil fuels like coal. Cotton and Broadcloth are natural fabrics; Polyester is synthetic and Flannel in a synthetic blend with cotton. Fabrics are made up of fibers which have their own chemical structure, which determines their classification. Polymers make up the fibers (Ball-Deslich and Funkhouser). Since cotton is natural, it comes from a natural cellulose fiber with the polymer of glucose (Cotton). Polyester is synthetic which can be classified as saturated or u...
Sustainable fashion offers various benefits to both the consumer and the entire environment. For instance, it is noted that the entire process of sustainable fashion is worthy for the globe. In most cases, the fashion industry leaves behind a huge environmental imprint ranging from the pesticides in growing cotton to the landfill impact of clothes that wear out and the energy needed to manufacture every piece. Therefore, deciding on organic fibers or sustainable fabrics made from bamboo can also reduce the quantity of carbon emitted and chemicals brought into people`s lives. This shows how sustainable fashion if embraced can bring benefits to the consumer, the producer, and to the environment, which is very vital for future generations. Selecting clothes that contain the label “fair trade act,” during purchase emphasizes on sustainability in numerous ways. The first thing is that, it guarantees that the product was produced under safe working conditions. Further, it signifies that the person who produced it earned a fair wage since it is sweatshop free (Hethorn 123). The act of purchasing clothes considered as “fair trade” confirms that individuals and places mean more than the organization`s fundamental reason for its